I'm having trouble getting XP to view wireless networks. I can connect wirelessly on the mac side without issue. On the XP side there isn't even an option in Network Connections for wireless. I have run the Wireless Network Setup Wizard and my network name and network key appear. Do I have to somehow tell Windows that there is wireless device in the mac? This is baffling to me. I've set these networks up dozens of times (in non-Parallels environments) and never not been given a "wireless" option in Network Connections. Is Parallels an issue here? Thanks in advance. mcd
What would you do with that, besides complicating your setup? I mean: you Mac OS X already connects to your wireless networks, which then gives your VM access through it, so what would you gain from attaching the wireless card of the Mac to the VM itself? I use primarily wireless networks in 3 locations as my only mean to connect (I rarely plug a cable in). I am very happy to have only the Mac swithcing locations. The Windows XP VM just get access through the "LAN", with no need for knowledge of how the actual connection is established.
Then you are also connected on XP. It just doesn't know that the upstream link is wireless. For XP, that's just 'a' LAN, wether wireless or cable is then irrelevant.
Thanks for your comments, Olivier. OK, I may actually be "connected" since the mac side is, but I cannot connect on the XP side at all. So for instance, I cannot update my virus protections wirelessly; I cannot sync with my crm for work; I need to be able to connect on both sides b/c I use them like two different machines (work/home). I'm just wondering why XP won't connect wirelessly and I cannot figure out how to get it to do so the usual way. I think it's an issue with parallels, or perhaps it's just that the windows side can't detect a method for connecting wirelessly, but I can't figure it out. Any help is appreciated.
The key thing to understand is that unless you have set your VM network settings intentionally such as the VM has NO access to the world further than you Mac OS X host, then by default your VM has access to whatever your host has access to. Parallels offers three networking modes: host-only, shared and bridged. Host-only will only network your VM with your host. The VM won't have access to any other place. First check your VM network card in the VM configuration is NOT set for host-only networking. It should be set to shared (easiest) or bridged (often even better, my preferred). Your VM 'network card' is not seen on the greater LAN or WAN. Shared is basically the same thing between your VM and the Mac host as what is happening between your PC or Mac and the (for instance) ADSL-router gateway you might be using to connect to the Internet. The VM gets a local IP (unroutable on the Internet) and the Mac host acts as a NAT-capable router. In this easy-mode, most of your software on the VM side should connect transparently to the internet without any specific effort. Your VM 'network card' is not seen on the greater LAN or WAN. Bridged is a more complete solution. Your VM 'network card' is exposed to the world. It is just as if there were two distinct computers, each with its own network adapter and its own MAC-address. Though the VM 'network card' actually 'pipes' through the real Mac host network layer. In this mode, which is the one I use most, if you have a wireless gateway device, your Mac OS X will connect wirelessly with it. Your VM will transparently network through this primary link though it will have to be individually recognized by the gateway. If that gateway is responsible for assigning IP addresses through a DHCP server, the XP VM will have to ask for and obtain an IP address, just as the Mac itself will have done. Which means your gateway device actually has TWO clients. Further than this, there is one very important detail to setup correctly in your VM preferences. You can choose to which ethernet adapter of your Mac the VM virtual adpater is connected to: set it to Default adapter. Such when your Mac itself switches from cable to wireless for your Internet connectivity, the VM follows since it is attached to the Default. Let's summarize this in other words. Networking your XP VM to the Internet through the wireless adpater of your Mac computer should be seen as if you had two computers. The PC is cable-connected to the Mac, the Mac is wirelessly (or cable) connected to the Internet and the Mac do share its connection to the PC alongside. That's not as if the 'PC' could grab the wireless device of the Mac. That is simply not how it is designed to work. If you can't get it to work flawlessly in 5 minutes having read the above, then detailed configuration information will be needed to pinpoint what has turned mad on your configuration. It really is simple and should work very easily as soon as you forget your idea to try to have XP connect wirelessly itself.
Oh yes. Now I feel foolish. The settings were set for "Bridged Ethernet - Ethernet Adapter" not default so it was working fine plugged in, but not wirelessly. Thank you for taking the time to help fix my problem. I thought it must be something simple like that.
Oh don't. I have always considered Parallels should have fixed it to "Default" by default (!) and made it much more complicated to change it for a specific adapter. ;-)
